The latest Trade Confidence Index (TCI) report from the HSBC Bank shows that UK exporters are feeling more optimistic than they have done for the last 4.5 years. The TCI currently stands at 113, a five-point increase compared with the previous report six months ago (any reading above 100 signals an anticipated expansion in trade).

Despite this stronger-than-expected performance, HSBC’s ‘UK head of global trade and receivables finance’ said that it is essential for the UK to invest more in R&D and to improve the links between education and business.

Mark Emmerson (pictured) said: “The UK’s educational institutions are internationally acclaimed, and Britain performs strongly in terms of the share of the population working in knowledge-intensive industries. However, the UK under-performs compared to trading competitors such as the USA in terms of the level of patent applications and R&D investment.”